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Hi! I’m one of the pixar employees affected from this. This article was really validating and relieving as some of us were unsure if these stories would see the light of day. It was tremendously sad and the animation industry absolutely should try to learn from it.
@@cosmicspacething3474 originally the story was about Riley over her first year in high school, then they switched it up to a weekend at the hockey camp. Changes always happen but Disneys shadow was pretty large on that movie in a lot of ways :/
I graduated Animation Mentor right when Covid 19 hit the US. Initially it was kind of hopeful because everyone was like hey you might be able to work from home! Maybe you won't have to travel to California or Vancouver and have more options! The problem is that I was already pretty jaded by the time I was graduated. All my mentors were pretty clear that there were tremendous issues in the industry. That there was so much rampant abuse and animators just had to take it because it was so easy to get black listed. Tbh it was a real hard kick in the teeth. Since then I've only seen things get worse. I'm glad for everything I've learned since it's something I wanted to be since I was a little kid, but knowing and seeing what the industry is like to the people who put their hearts into this craft is just soul crushing.
@@urbanlp555 I will say I really liked the hockey camp story though. Also whoever made the call to give Lenny from Toy Story a cameo is a true person of culture
The dumbest part is that this was also a personal movie. THE FIRST ONE was a personal film too! They were both based on the director’s experiences as a parent!!!
@@NoTheRobot they are blaming directors and hard working animators for their own financial failures bc this antisocial bit*** only care about pleasing investors and executives, they don't really see their own movies outside of peeking during production and i find it disgusting that they are always trying to profit on heart, soul and art of other people, like... bruh how are they different from Ai companies at this point?
The dumbest part is that EVERY Pixar movie that made it to legendary status is about something personal to their respective directors. They just found a way to present it to the world as relatable to a massive audience, and that's part of the Pixar genius and what made that brand instantly recognizable. The recent "turn" into even more deeper personal stories was not just a fad, it was the logical direction the studio was meant to take in the long term. Seeing them backpedaling into this "we need franchises and blockbusters" sounds so stupid, and will hammer the nail to an already dying studio.
It like the gag from Spongebob where Mr Krabs celebrates his million's dollar and the customer says: Wow so what do i win Mr Krabs: Nothing now get out
This is sad, but alsowhy im happy that indie studios like Glitch is booming. I hope this results in a revolution in the animation industry. Could you imagine if all the artists quit and created their own indie studios? Like **** these toxic executives. The artists are truly the victims and its heartbreaking.
@@NoTheRobot that is awesome dude! I'm looking forward to your future work. And hope the studio build goes smoothly! Would love to see how you approach the motion capture :D
That's pretty much the answer for this problem: Competition. Glitch may not have the same business model as big names in the industry but that allows them to tap in a market of people who don't want to spend money on theatrical releases or subscription fees. Furthermore, there is a need for new stories being told without relying on established IPs. That kind of risk is beyond what big companies are willing to tolerate so let that risk be taken by emerging studios. Most will fail but those who make it will take off in popularity by the sheer power of words of mouths and social media algorithms.
The people who have the audacity to say that animators should be ok with being exploited because it's the job they want to have are insane. The animation industry is a scam. What's it going to take for people to respect art? Everyone wants to be entertained but they don't want to pay the creatives what they're owed. It's disgusting.
I hate it when businesses do not value the employees who made their success possible. If you do not want greed or time crunches to kill careers like acting or animating, and everyone works together to gain them the respect that they deserve, then surrendering to the status quo is not an option. October 8, 2024, 2:44pm
and those people wouldn't dare to say the same about other careers that are just as stressful and overworking as animation is, they just spite animation so much because they don't understand it, and they will never do.
Well it’s like Adam Conover says in this video, “their respect doesn’t matter. What matters is your respect for yourselves.” And he’s right, we’ll never get their respect but we don’t need it to keep creating meaningful art.
Imagine if they used this on other forms of entertainment. Like singers. Those people would be up in arms if Beyoncé or Eminem said they were being exploited. There'd be boycotts to their labels review bashing Spotify, all kinds. But faceless artists don't get the luxury of support.
2:47 honestly the only reason these "personal" movies weren't as successful was because, 1: lack of advertising (inside out 2 had A SHIT TON of advertising.) and 2: they were disney+ exclusives....
Right?? Like, these stories were actually what was finally getting me to give Disney another chance after getting tired of their capitalism and monopolizing. I thought they were starting to turn over a new perspective and actually learn to empower the artists, at least a little more. But nope. Sequels, market appeal, worker exploitation is their priority. And I'm out, I just don't do Disney anymore. Does the world feel way more emptier of media while ignoring Disney affiliated works? Yep. And it should with how much they monopolise, and has the silver lining of finally getting all the clutter out of the way to actually notice the passionately made indie art.
I actually wanted to see Turning Red in theaters, but by the time I learned it even got a theatrical release (I had to Google this) it was already gone
It’s classic Disney, notice how all these films they call “unsuccessful” either have main characters who are poc or deal with lgbtq+ themes? It’s just a round about way for them to stop making these stories with the excuse that they are not “profitable” when most these movies didn’t even get a theatrical release and still did pretty well considering they were only available on Disney+ during the pandemic
As a young animator that hopes to turn my art into a career, the state of the animation industry is discouraging. I just hope that more awareness is spread about this topic, and I’m really glad people like you are helping with that
It’s also possible that with the current working conditions studios like Pixar set up for animators plus the possibility of AI taking over, that there might be a surge in indie filming
I understand. I wanted to be an animator at DreamWorks, but they announced last year that they're going to start outsourcing those jobs, and it doesn't look like that will happen anymore. BUT, I've got faith in the indie scene, have started my own studio, and will be pursuing animation on my own instead. I'm still an animator, even if I'm not employed by one of the big studios, and no one can take that from me. Adapting to the future of the industry will be more crucial than ever. At least that's my personal perspective - hope that helps :)
Go indie, start a YT account, make animations, have a side/main job while it grows. Hopefully it grows enough it becomes your main job. If you are in a uni and have electives to spare, choose marketing. You might need it.
Inde animations are really starting to take off! And if you've got all the talent to start your own show, or movie... Then you got what it takes! You won't have to rely on an executive approving your ideas, you *are* the executive!
I think the financial gain is not even what most people fight for. Instead, it's stuff like "being able to work in normal conditions", "having a decent pay for all the work done" and, the most outrageous : "being treated like a human being". Crazy right ? 😭 (This is ironic people. I don't understand how it's okay to treat people like that, no matter what they work in)
@@germainelowpt7206 It was never "okay" to treat workers like they are not fellow human beings who deserve equal rights! That is never going to be okay! The best way to describe this cruel mistreatment of workers is "barely not illegal." October 8, 2024, 8:47pm
@princesspikachu3915 huh, that stinks It's very smart witht he way it presents it's meanings and themes but I do get it, the first was definitely more packed with things to keep you on board, as it focuses more on joy and sadness trying to get back to hq.
What sucks is that independent indie animators have little chance of succeeding as much as big name animations do because they dont have the resources to garner as much attention to their works. I love animation and would like to see more than just Disney and whatnot, but I don't even know a place I can do that other than UA-cam.
It is hard but it isn’t impossible! There are a whole lot of indie studios and animators on the rise that have made it :). They can be abit harder to find but it is worth the search.
@@MewCriesThing is, for every Lackadaisy/Hazbin/Helluva/Digital Circus out there, there's probably another 10 indie shows you've never heard of that never get past early production due to a lack of audience and resources.
What really ticks me off about executives not wanting personal stories but rather a franchise is that every franchise has to start with an original story😭 Like the reason inside out 2 got so popular was BECAUSE people fell inlove with the first one. Which was a standalone movie!!
This really broke my heart reading this article as a Pixar stan since chidlhood. I 100% think both Disney and Pixar should vote to unionize. However, I would like to point out the comments here saying that indie animation is the future. That alone isn’t going to save the industry. What REALLY will save the industry is the unionization of animation as a whole as well as an alliance between the indie side and the industry side, akin to how A24 is allowed to showcase their films in Hollywood’s old theaters.
Yeah tbh I think the "industry" as we know it is collapsing, and making way for a new business model for animation. The more high quality content that comes out of UA-cam from studios like Glitch with successful business models, the more I'm convinced that the future of animation is more direct to consumer than it is through the studio system. However, it should be allowed to coexist with the traditional industry and the artists that are fighting for their rights deserve to get what they're asking for.
@@NoTheRobotagreed. But the problem is so many studios the investors are private equity firms and hedge funds. The same companies that gutted toys r us and Kmart and other companies
The studios won’t listen unless you make them listen. They won’t treat workers right until a union forces them to. I’m loving that indie is getting its moment right now, but they should be protected too.
@@bamb3928 Especially with drama going on at Glitch. I’m just annoyed about people who kiss indie animation’s butt and disparage the other side of things because despite the struggles of workplace enivronments, which can happen on either side, animation can put something beautiful out regardless.
"We don't want to make nuanced stories that mean something to the creators that audiences can resonate with, that doesnt make as much money and sell as many plushies; let's make movies that will make heaps and loads of money and sell trucks full of plushies instead." Unfortunately this is how corporations think and it's sad. Movies like Turning Red and Luca had such strong emotional cores and while Inside Out 2 did a great job of being emotionally poignant, I think a shift towards franchise movies feels creatively bankrupt and lazy. I think they executed this movie well btu that doesnt mean that they always will. More live-action remakes anyone?
I blame Illumniation a little bit. I mean, cute franchises are their MO, and I don’t particularly haaaate them for that, I just have no interest in watching Despicable Me 7 or anything like that. I think Bluey might save good story telling though. Marketable and good story.
@@rayeiswriting4372 THIS MIGHT JUST BE THE BEST TAKE OF THE CENTURY. I totally agree that Illumination has pushed the limit of how bad a movie can be while still making a shit-ton of money. At this point its a social experiment. I really hope this trend ends though
As someone who is going into the animation industry next year its sad because when you train as an animator these are things you realise are really common. Animators are notoriously overworked, underpaid and underappreciated
It doesn’t have to be that way. I’m not sure which country you are from, but animation unions made the working conditions a lot better in L.A. I’m Canadian, and I can see how the industry where I’m from has improved the working conditions even without unions (although that is about to change for the better very soon👀). Artists in the animation industry are such passionate hardworking people. They aren’t standing by and watching this happen. So please, have hope and involve yourself in your local animation community. You might be surprised at the change you are capable of as a community. ❤️
@bamb3928 I absolutely still wish to be involved in the animation community. Animation has been my passion since I was 12, it will take a lot for me to give that up. I work in South Africa so in this climate more than 30% of our populace are unemployed and most large animation companies take advantage of the cheap labor force. Still I hope we can make changes as the understanding of animation is slowly becoming more aware in the public consciousness.
Executives live in bizarro world. They tank movies and then blame the creators for it not making more money. They prop up a bland cash-grab and pat themselves on the back as it fails.
maybe some of those amazing animators could make their own indie projects for youtube since Spindlehorse, Glitch, and many many others have started making youtube their new home for not just money but art in a more comfortable and satisfying way that's both realistic and fair versus going off persistent threats from big head studios about to lose their jobs.
@@Tonithealtwing people still believe this ?? Seriously? The claims were made originally by people who simply didn't understand how payment works in the animation industry. They assumed pay was = time animation would be on screen (which is not true) Every spindlehorse employee to speak about it claims they get payed great and they're clearly really passionate about it, streaming or posting their animation on UA-cam. It's so incredibly damaging to the indie animation space that people deep dive on the people behind them to make stuff up because they're not as protected as a large company. People absolutely hate anything associated with spindlehorse so anything said about it should probably be researched before you decide if you want to spread any negative sentiments around it.
Inside Out 2 success is leading to more Pixar sequels & less original movies which has me worried for the future of animation especially by the horrible way the studios treat their hardworking animators!
Honestly Disney and Pixar have been making some really low moves lately. This is one of the biggest reasons I have stayed freelance and never actually got into working in feature films. I just refuse to risk my livelihood for an executive to lay me off right before my work goes out and lose my bonus for making they thing they just released.
10:13 I can't believe people have this mindset, artists are so incredibly important to just about any culture, all music, colour, pictures, movies, series etc only exist because of artists and animators. How incredibly boring and depressing the world will be without artists and animators to put some light and joy into our lives.
I’ve been aware of this ever since I was like 14 and I’m 24 now. This kind of news is one of the things that have stopped me from trying to enter the animation industry as a storyboarder. It’s my dream job, but I’ve never seen people fight for their rights as an artist until recently. I hope we keep fighting forever.
another example is with Transformers One, the film is wonderful, all the artists who made this film deserve praise, but now I don't think it's fair to hope for it to be a box office success, because these artists won't see any of the money from the film or of the toy sales, it's only the big bosses who will profit. I want success to go to these workers, because they were the ones who made it happen.
I've heard there's a toxic positivity problem where directors and writers don't get told they have to fix scriptural or story problems--and the culture that activists and "personal story!!!" people bring into the studios don't help. Why would you point out actual issues with the story when you know that the people writing it will take it personally and/or as an attack on them?
Most of the upcoming Moana 2 was animated by Disney Animation's nascient Vancouver studio, which is also non unionized i think. I suspect there will be story after story published when that becomes an inevitable success about the working conditions there
To the people saying that indie animation is the way out of the current state of animation: that is like putting a band-aid on a limb that has been cut off. While it is great that indie animation is becoming more popular and accessible, that shouldn't be the solution because that isn't fixing the root of the problem, which is that animators are overworked yet they still can't pay their pills and barely have healthcare. Projects are still being shelved before they hit their prime in favor of short-term profits, which directly affects animators since having the show you worked in being in a streaming service is required on your resume now. And let's not forget how Netflix and other streaming services will find Mr. Krabs-esque ways to get out of paying their animators, like how they got caught lying about The Cuphead Show having three seasons when it's actually the entire first season cut up into three sections and labeled as "seasons." GLITCH Productions and indie animators are not going to fix that, nor do they have the ability to; unionizing, negotiations, and eating the rich are really the only ways to fix the problem.
Pixar is not the only Studio that has harsh working environment. Studio Ghibli also has the same problems as well under the management of the Hayao Miyazaki. Why do you think alot of empoyees and artist left the studio is because of the terrible and harsh working environment and not only that he's also very difficult to work with, shuts down ideas that aren't his, and being encapable of fostering growth and nurturing creativity in younger artist so that they can succeed. There's no wonder Studio Ponoc existed becuse its own by the former employees of Studio Ghibli who left the company. Theres a reason why there is no successor of that particular studio in general.
@@SsLoage You're welcome, Miyazaki was very notorious for being difficult to work with and also based on his relationship with his son Goro I can really tell why his son made Tales of Earthsea which I bet a reply to his father's resentment of him.
Animators being overworked and abused is a tale as old as time. It’s not new unfortunately. The only thing holding them somewhat accountable are unions.
The one scene in inside out showed the animators to me. The scene where anxiety is making all the workers draw pictures non stop made me think about the animators - don’t know why but it made me feel kinda yucky about it. I mean it’s a fine movie but that definitely stood out to me
That’s true. Anxiety is afraid of something, not being liked and not having a future, so she drove anxiety into others. Just like I imagine executives who shut out everyone else would.
Sometimes I feel the phrase Animation Industry is an oxymoron. Like Animation is an art form that takes a lot of money and time to make and industry is about streamlining the entire process to make as much money per project as possible. I can't understand how the two are supposed to reconcile in a way that makes artists and business people happy
As someone going into uni for animation filmmaking next year this hurts me very much knowing that my work might not exist anymore. I chose this route to make art, not money. Idgaf about money but it'd be nice to be able to live and get recognition for working on a beautiful film. I think the first thing that needs to be done is strikes on one side and on the other an internal union needs to be prepared for each studio. In a second time, artists need to be able to have a point of view on the art they're making and if it's soulless money making then shutting it back. This could work with more creative directors that actually care about film. I hope this works out well because I don't want to make frozen 32 and toy story 15 but instead make nice art that reflects the emotion of someone. Get directors that know their worth and that can stand up for themselves
Sucks that the industry is like this. Loved a lot of animated shows growing up and i think I'd love to work writing for animated shows. But due to how bad it looks now, might not be a good time for that and to focus more on a stable well paid day job b4 tipping my toe into that. Hope your stuidio prep keeps going well.
Its honestly so sad seeing rampant capitalism take ahold of these companies' moral codes when it comes to paying their animators. The future seems so bleak for animation, but I do look forwards to the people now starting their own series now on their own. The amount of animated pilots popping up on youtube with a wonderful style and astounding animation quality is a solace. Great video as well! I hope commenting boosts it in the algorithm because having people who aren't artists and animators watch is absolutely needed.
As an animation student, this is why I'm hesitant to work with big companies like Disney 😒 Idk if the same struggles are happening in Indie Companies like Glitch Productions but at least I have a better chance liking my job as much as I do now as a student. I found two YTubers who works for Glitch and they seem to enjoy their jobs and like to show off their work. Also, my major made me to pay more attention to the ANIMATION (and story, duh) rather than Jack Black being Bowser or Aquafina doing once again, a horrible job at voice acting. 🙄 It also made my mom pay more attention to animation and she knows nothing about this field, lol. Basically, my Major as a freshman student made me appreciate Animatiors/Artist more than anything while enjoying my own little characters doing anything I imagine. 🥰 And that's what I want for myself after I graduate. Now, I'm not saying Indie is the future for the animation field (because who knows, the cycle might continue), I'm saying that I also demand change from Disney NOT using AI for their movies to Big companies treating their employees like normal human beings because, at the end of the day, the Animatiors are doing more work than Beyonce reading a script for Frozen 6.
Sigh... As always Disney gives me one reason or another to regret supporting them. Even when the movie does great, those damn executives will fire tons of people, but never themselves. So what's the point of putting effort in your job, if they're gonna fire you anyway? We really need smaller studios to rise up and kick these people of their pedestal for good...
I really wish I was able to go to Burbank for the rally. I love animation, some of my favorite stories ever are cartoons like Gravity Falls, The Owl House, Amphibia, Over The Garden Wall, ect, and I'm going to college with the intent to be a storyboard artist. It's important for me to show my support not just because I know how hard these people worked and how much they deserve better, but because I'm going into this field myself; I WANT to keep and continue the energy Alex Hirsch had while on Gravity Falls, a tight-knit team who all contributed great ideas and worked together to make something special. That's why I wanted to go into storyboarding, and I hope we can salvage it going forward.
That's all I'm trying to do haha. The animation community is relatively small, so I'm hoping I have some crossover here with the mainstream to help this story break through. Thank you for commenting!
I hope a lot of animators are able to break free, create their own projects, studios, better living and working conditions. Sadly in today's day and age we fuel the great machine by just gobbling up Pixar sequels all the time. Maybe skip the next one, or watch it on streaming only, and support some smaller animated productions instead.
Disney and pixar lost the ability to dare and dream big (back then it wasnt all good either but they had visions) . Nowadays it is just money and no interest in his workers or audience...save, save, save for us. They wouldnt be where they are now if they have choosen this course from the start. What changed over the years? What I fear most is that they get animators angry to lead them all into indie animations studios who try ( i really hope for it) to pay fair wages but are dependend on the audience to help out every single day.
It's Disney. It's a horrible company and I long feared it would F up Pixar. Also, former Pixar artists are starting their own studios... it's happening and I hope it continues to happen. I think the way forward is indie studios, not large corporate sweatshops.
1.6 billion - you think they'd sacrifice a smidgeon of the profit (which after expenses is likely a billion and change) to ensure these laid off animators could still get bonuses. By a smidgeon I literally mean even 30-70 K each. But nope! The internal optics of doing that would get someone fired and make stockholders angry. Ridiculous.
This is uncannily like the situation at Disney back in the 1940s after Snow White was released and workers never received their bonuses. Walt also refused to unionize his studio at the time. History keeps repeating itself, I guess
Appreciate your work and these videos/channel! I had my heart set on pursuing a career as a story artist&illustrator but watching the industry turmoil over the last few years, and seeing so many of my talented friends out of work really makes me hesitant.
I feel like at this point all people who work on animation should just create their own brands and leave Pixar and Disney to sink and burn... I used to love Disney and Pixar bt now i will be very happy to see the company go up in flames... How dare they deem animation to be second rate... How dare they think animation is just for kids and should be dumbed down so they can be easily understood... Explain how they can pay millions of dollars per day for an actor who acts bt cant even pay half that for a team who CREATES art.... Yeah those companies are not worth the support they have
I saw the video a few days ago and didn't click on it since i thought this video was like those other videos that shit on movies for being too woke for the sake of angry rants. Again, since i do have seen people hating this movies for lacking [insert random nitpick]. But im glad the video got recommended to me again and i actually gave it another look and realized it was about a different topic which is absolutely concerning and outrageous. I don't know what to think now, especially since i also want to step inside the animation or illustration industry, not nesessaryly pixar or any animation studio, but still. It leaves me rather speechless and uncertain as to what to do
Thanks for giving me another chance! Yeah unfortunately that type of angry rant style video seems to be my competition here on UA-cam. I don’t want to resort to “Disney bad” videos, I’d rather look at the situation objectively. I’m hopeful that the industry will self correct in the next few years but I’m not crossing my fingers.
This. Animating is all I want to do in life but there is no way I’m gonna let myself be exploited like this. I do animation on my free time/patreon while having a nice paying regular job
I don't know why studio executives are always so stupid... Oh wait, I know why, its because they only speak through the graphs and numbers telling them how much money they make! I seriously don't understand how they can be THIS disconnected from reality. :/
my uncle was one of the people laid off and it almost made him and my aunt lose their house their was no real warning and it hit them pretty hard. they had to sell my other uncles houses that died that was full of memories for them to make ends meet. Disney sucks pretty bad
It's stuff like this that makes me want to shift away from movie animation altogether. I'm currently in college to become a 3d animator. I still want to stick with it, but i feel more confident in the world of video games or homemade animations
This is so sad. There is so much expression in Riley and the animators did so good. Stupid money hungry corp runners are always so money hungry and greedy. How ironic that the movie is about anxiety and the animators probably had a lot of anxiety
As much as I do agree, i think people are giving pixar a lot of bad reaction when dreamworks layed off 75% of their employees and i dont see peolle talking about that
Hey, I just want to thank You for speaking out about this problem. As a person who is just passionate about the animation and has actually no voice and influence, I'm so happy people are talking about the industry. Maybe I would sound like a Jehova's witness, but I think I should talk with my friends and loved ones about the problem, even if they don't care. I feel like I need to educate them, tell them that they should respect the beauty of animation and not treat it like "silly goofy fairy tale/cartoon for kids" [in my country many people call most of the animations "fairy tales" and it frustrates me because this enlarges the stereotype, greetings from Poland]
Hearing about how rough the animation industry always makes me sad. Animation has meant a lot to me my whole life. When I was younger, it was my dream to be an animation, but now, not so much. I regularly get into arguments w/ family that I shouldn't give up on my dreams or the industry isn't that bad, animators make so much, get great benefits, and it isn't a hard job at know... It's heart breaking and scary to know it's somewhat normal that the animation industry is so much of a hell scape AND that there are people out there a kin to some of my family whom don't know, care, or believe about it.
i cant virtue-signal saying "lol just stop paying for them then" bc i went and watched the 3 star wars sequels in theaters, i watched barbie. but... it's 2014, the rebootification has been going for almost a decade if not the whole decade. _why_ are we as a culture still giving big studios money? ive been comparing this stuff to the sims (lol), bc people are always complaining the sims sucks but still buying it. the thing with pc gaming tho is that it's easier to get a hold of indie games, and indie animation is just as hard to make. netflix felt like a beacon of hope for indie animation for a while but of course that was a bust. i dont know how mubi works, sadly. but yeah, we *need* the equivalent of steam for animation, or nebula, i dont know, bc youtube isnt *it* either. otherwise it's gonna be a few unicorn anitubers going big and the bulk of artists fending for themselves :/
I find that there's a big difference between what audiences SAY they want, vs what they ACTUALLY want. Talk to anyone and they'll tell you they're sick of live-action remakes, yet the LAR's have almost consistently out-grossed their animated counterparts (see The Lion King as a perfect example). What's Disney supposed to think with data like that?
@@NoTheRobot exactly D: it's so frustrating... but the again most people who are watching the movies arent the ones being sad about _the state of the animation industry_ and watching think pieces about them, theyre the ones going to insertstudio-land getting merch :/
Soul is my 7-year-old's favorite movie. Turning Red is my new favorite Pixar movie dethroning Ratatouille. We all love Luca and Onward and Elemental too. Lightyear was...okay. It boggles my mind how the narrative keeps saying these were "bad" movies when my family all agrees they've been some of the best movies the studio has ever put out.
The magic is officially dead with many of these major companies for me. Like, no matter how sweet and beautiful their works are, if they screwed over this many innocent people, I don't want them. They deserve to be in this rut for what they did, and will dig it deeper if they keep it up. Plus; turns out they do have a lot of creative rivals in Indie studios, they've just been good at burying them and winning the limited audience attention with advertising for years. If the world isn't doing the bare minimum for ethics, I'm not going to pretend I'm in a more pleasant world, I'm existing in the world where these films don't feel good to watch because they exploited people. My joy can come from projects that are actually kind to the workers.
"They are not investing in new stuff". Wrong. Elio is Pixar's next release, and they're producing the original screenplay Hoppers, directed by Daniel Chong of We Bare Bears.
I'm currently in art school, majoring in 3D Animation, and when people ask me why I want to be an animator or artist despite knowing how competitive and; how toxic and risky the work environment can be towards animators. Personally for me, I started looking up to animators in my teen years and want to be one myself purely to create and entertain. I take a lot of joy from the idea of bringing life to something, and I love entertaining people. As animators, we purely run from passion and discipline. I am afraid that I might be unemployed or can't even make it into the field, but that fear is not gonna stop me from contributing to a story that is worth telling. I hate that higher ups from studios puts income first over the entertainment and quality of their movies. As a director, or studio leaning on making entertainment and inspired children from all over the world from the stories they tell, you should put quality and entertainment first. A director is an artist, they have the vision, they have the story. But why make any if a studio is not allowing those who has greater minds to tell that story? Why lay off animators who has great potential? I understand that maybe there is a budget, and you don't want your studio to bankrupt but you can't be wasting artist's time by not paying them what they are worth. Without artists, things like these wouldn't even exist and animators contribute a lot to these movies. I feel their passion through the movies they produce, I see their effort, but no one is letting these people receive the respect they deserve.
Inside Out 2 was pretty good. It was probably the first movie since Toy Story 2 where I could say the sequel was better. Pixar’s work has been forgettable as of late. The last movie by Pixar that I really enjoyed was Soul. Lightyear was alright. But Onward, Turning Red and Luca, can’t remember anything about them. Pixar appears to put more effort into sequels unfortunately. That’s why we now have Toy Story 5 and Incredibles 3. I do look forward to seeing those however.
So my one criticism of this video is that it ignores that the artist and the studios are a in a symbiotic relationship, as without the studios the artist can’t do much, and without the artists the studios won’t have product to sell. And thus when the studio is treated as a evil faceless machine and not a living organism as when the studio does bad or is in debt it is reseasonable for them to be less creative or sadly have to lay people off, people become blindsided to the fact that the tragic layoffs helped to keep Pixar going after the tumultuous last few years. And yes I do want to see the artist treated better we just need to make sure when having a conversation that we look at the full picture.
The problem is that relationship is a toxic one with the studios having most of the power here. It’s no longer symbiotic when the workers aren’t getting their fair share of the money making pie despite that money being built off their labour. I think You’re wrong here: the animators and artists have the power. The show doesn’t get made if there isn’t people to make it. Animators have been going indie and making amazing things. They don’t need the studios to tell them what to animate, they need to be paid and treated fairly. They made a killing on inside out and what do the animators get? Burn out and a measly bonus.
Lots of former industry animators started doing indie Like Former Blue Sky animator, Kevin Temmer, who became the lead animator of the successful and popular indie show, The Amazing Digital Circus
@@Frostensen The sweet part of this bittersweet success is already obvious if you watched Inside Out 2 for yourself. It was a wildly successful film because it had a great story which (A) had much more emotional depth, (B) does not think that being a sequel is an excuse to not try to make a better story, and (C) puts a chick in it who is neither lame nor gay. Inside Out 2 is not a lazy or unambitious sequel, but I assume Pixar was still in such poor financial condition from previous failed films that it probably had to decrease the quantity of workers to not be overstaffed in case of another financial loss. I still wish Pixar had not fired Inside Out 2's animators so soon, because they do not deserve to be excluded from the rewards of their own work. Would Inside 2 exist without any or all of them? October 8, 2024, 9:01pm
A lot of UA-camrs like Ryan Kinel, really don’t want lgbtq on Pixar films because they’re too “woke”, like there’s nothing wrong with being lgbtq and I don’t want Disney to make anymore ice age movies since blue sky studios is dead
Dumb question but is there by any chance a such a thing as animation conventions?? I think it everyone in the animation industry start a small get together maybe things will set in stine for something much morme bigger and beneficial for everyone
Disney being a corporate giant and owning Pixar treat their animators like common employees, while reaping the huge profits for themselves and giving little back to the people who made the last film Inside Out 2, mainly the ones who were laid off. Reducing staff is just a numbers game, and the corporate execs, don't work as hard while making record profits. Execs care less about artists, its just a box office machine.
These big execs are getting reaaaallll ballsy considering they would never have their money or power if not for the artists and animators who’s creativity and hard work is what gives THEM a fkn job not the other way around. We aren’t surprised, but yes we are tired.
❤ Thanks for the vid. “Not unionized” and “I can’t do this anymore”. Therein might lay a solution. They produced fantastic art that reaches people. And got exploited and canned. Corporations usually do this and when they’re given limitations, they don’t make any for themselves. And HR exists to protect them not the employees.
I feel like this story may be a backhanded message to Disney. Disney is acting on anxiety, which is lowering their quality. They need to get their act together and find the joy in what they're doing.
Thanks for making this video and bringing awareness to the topic. The gaming industry has been going through very similar issues for some time now. It's heartbreaking just how much disrespect the workers get from management, only to be fired by text or worse, finding out from twitter. And many times to be let go BECAUSE of bad decisions made BY said management. Tango Gameworks developed the game Hi-Fi Rush and released it 2023 to critical acclaim, then were hit with the news Microsoft had decided to close down the studio by 2024 to cut costs. Just like that, after months of grind and a very succesful release, everyone was hit with the news that they would be sent packing for their efforts. Then Matt Booty (Microsoft's Head of Xbox) A DAY LATER wrote on Twitter that they needed more games like Hi-Fi Rush. A day after getting rid of everyone, he's out there praising their work, it's insane. Hoping everyone who gave their heart and soul for your work to move on to studios who treat you with some humanity.
Thank you for these types of videos, I work in children's publishing but always wanted to work in animation. I have always tried to be forward thinking and supportive of social justice movements and I believe workers rights is a big one whether that be in fast food, medical, education, or animation. As a parent and artist these films and the messages they portray are HUGE! The publishing world had a reckoning w/ the lack of diversity in books and of those who make them and I see that coming for animation too. Right on.
Thank you for this, I really appreciate all you are doing with your channel dude. Love the TWRP shirt too! " The studios don't care about making good movies, they only care about making good box office impressions" This one rang true with me because of a movie I saw last night. It advertised itself to have a completely separate meaning and subject than what was actually in the film. It took something deeply meaningful to me and made it a terrible plot device to sell bad romance to impressionable youth. It felt like brainwash. It felt like I was cheated for looking forward to seeing it. And it's probably doing pretty well because of this deception.
5:43 I mean reboots and sequels are good and safe, but those are more a temporary solution. These aren't a long term thing u want to rely on. Reboots and sequels are more the thing u do to keep the lights on, but maybe not and all the time thing to be your meat & potatoes main course projects. At least that's the idea I assume u are getting at.
Neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ people exist and have existed for a long time. A lot of those people also happen to be artists. I can't imagine the company culture/ feeling of dread going in to work for a company telling you to actively diminish those characters and stories in your movies. Sounds like a lot of bureaucratic nonsense from higher ups who only care about the bottom line.
Great! A new studio space and a Patreon as well Love your content, been really busy these days that I can't keep up with my youtube notifications But magically, I get time to watch to videos immediately and its because of how good they are The current state of the industry looks bleak, makes us beginner animators and students wonder if we should just stop animation But the truth is animation inspires me, I can't imagine doing something other than that and I know things will get better for the industry I hope they will, And I'm still willing to take the risk because animation is worth the risk in my opinion
What's funny is Animators have been trying to unionize for decades 😅 but since there were so few studios to work for.. it was basically not possible Way Way back when Animators went on strike and Old Walt Disney called them all selfish 😒 and communists (because he played favorites and pay others more than the true grunt workers.. and they just wanted a few extra bucks to survive) Course it's the strange favoritism and Meddling CEOs who help Don Bluth, Pixar and other big Animators make their own studios.. so pixar needs to remember why they didn't just start working for Disney from the start
Idk if this helps but I am a new watcher and it was hard to click on the video you referenced in the beginning of the vid. I could have searched for it in your channel but I didnt know which was the correct thumbnail or title to search for bc that part was so fast and the hotlink for the vid at the top right corner flashed even faster. Maybe I'm old and slow but just thought I would share. Thanks for the interesting and informative video!
as someone who always wanted to be an animator, news like this makes me not want the job anymore…and i hate that because animation is beautiful and it’s something i’ve always wanted to be apart of….just not under these circumstances i just hope things get better as time passes
I've launched a Patreon to support this channel & videos like this! patreon.com/notherobot
You can watch videos early before anyone else, participate in community polls on future video topics, and see WIP's of my own animations. Hope to see you over there!😄
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Hi! I’m one of the pixar employees affected from this. This article was really validating and relieving as some of us were unsure if these stories would see the light of day. It was tremendously sad and the animation industry absolutely should try to learn from it.
So sorry to hear about your situation :( I agree though it's really important that people understand what is going on!
Hopefully many other people get to see this too.
Side question; what were the major story changes made so far into development?
@@cosmicspacething3474 originally the story was about Riley over her first year in high school, then they switched it up to a weekend at the hockey camp. Changes always happen but Disneys shadow was pretty large on that movie in a lot of ways :/
I graduated Animation Mentor right when Covid 19 hit the US. Initially it was kind of hopeful because everyone was like hey you might be able to work from home! Maybe you won't have to travel to California or Vancouver and have more options! The problem is that I was already pretty jaded by the time I was graduated. All my mentors were pretty clear that there were tremendous issues in the industry. That there was so much rampant abuse and animators just had to take it because it was so easy to get black listed.
Tbh it was a real hard kick in the teeth.
Since then I've only seen things get worse. I'm glad for everything I've learned since it's something I wanted to be since I was a little kid, but knowing and seeing what the industry is like to the people who put their hearts into this craft is just soul crushing.
@@urbanlp555 I will say I really liked the hockey camp story though. Also whoever made the call to give Lenny from Toy Story a cameo is a true person of culture
The dumbest part is that this was also a personal movie. THE FIRST ONE was a personal film too! They were both based on the director’s experiences as a parent!!!
Bingo. I think they're scapegoating those movies for not bringing in billions of people to Disney+ that were promised to them by Silicon Valley.
@@NoTheRobot they are blaming directors and hard working animators for their own financial failures bc this antisocial bit*** only care about pleasing investors and executives, they don't really see their own movies outside of peeking during production and i find it disgusting that they are always trying to profit on heart, soul and art of other people, like... bruh how are they different from Ai companies at this point?
The dumbest part is that EVERY Pixar movie that made it to legendary status is about something personal to their respective directors. They just found a way to present it to the world as relatable to a massive audience, and that's part of the Pixar genius and what made that brand instantly recognizable. The recent "turn" into even more deeper personal stories was not just a fad, it was the logical direction the studio was meant to take in the long term. Seeing them backpedaling into this "we need franchises and blockbusters" sounds so stupid, and will hammer the nail to an already dying studio.
@@NoTheRobot agreed. And the tech bros scam the studio’s and scam them with the pivot to video streaming grift
It's personal but not a self insert movie like turning red and elemental, which were bad imo
It like the gag from Spongebob where Mr Krabs celebrates his million's dollar and the customer says: Wow so what do i win
Mr Krabs: Nothing now get out
Always appreciate a good Spongebob reference
@@NoTheRobotI’m happy Trump won!
This is sad, but alsowhy im happy that indie studios like Glitch is booming. I hope this results in a revolution in the animation industry. Could you imagine if all the artists quit and created their own indie studios? Like **** these toxic executives. The artists are truly the victims and its heartbreaking.
It’s what I did! I’m keeping a close eye on what Glitch is doing & want to try and replicate that for my own studio 😁✌️
@@NoTheRobot that is awesome dude! I'm looking forward to your future work. And hope the studio build goes smoothly! Would love to see how you approach the motion capture :D
That's pretty much the answer for this problem: Competition.
Glitch may not have the same business model as big names in the industry but that allows them to tap in a market of people who don't want to spend money on theatrical releases or subscription fees.
Furthermore, there is a need for new stories being told without relying on established IPs. That kind of risk is beyond what big companies are willing to tolerate so let that risk be taken by emerging studios. Most will fail but those who make it will take off in popularity by the sheer power of words of mouths and social media algorithms.
@@thecoton6152 Competition *is* capitalism...
@@NoTheRobotagreed
Disney literally did a Collab with spicy chicken wings and have the audacity to credit the voice actors but NOT the animators like... what? 💀
you mean "Hot ones"?
Yeah that sounds about right. Disney was better when they were struggling to keep the lights on.
Don’t worry they credited everyone who worked on it now
spicy chicken wings lol.
@@hikaru9624 They were also put to the wrong hands
The people who have the audacity to say that animators should be ok with being exploited because it's the job they want to have are insane.
The animation industry is a scam. What's it going to take for people to respect art? Everyone wants to be entertained but they don't want to pay the creatives what they're owed. It's disgusting.
I hate it when businesses do not value the employees who made their success possible. If you do not want greed or time crunches to kill careers like acting or animating, and everyone works together to gain them the respect that they deserve, then surrendering to the status quo is not an option. October 8, 2024, 2:44pm
and those people wouldn't dare to say the same about other careers that are just as stressful and overworking as animation is, they just spite animation so much because they don't understand it, and they will never do.
Well it’s like Adam Conover says in this video, “their respect doesn’t matter. What matters is your respect for yourselves.” And he’s right, we’ll never get their respect but we don’t need it to keep creating meaningful art.
And now the casuals say AI will replace animators
Imagine if they used this on other forms of entertainment. Like singers.
Those people would be up in arms if Beyoncé or Eminem said they were being exploited. There'd be boycotts to their labels review bashing Spotify, all kinds.
But faceless artists don't get the luxury of support.
2:47 honestly the only reason these "personal" movies weren't as successful was because, 1: lack of advertising (inside out 2 had A SHIT TON of advertising.) and 2: they were disney+ exclusives....
Right?? Like, these stories were actually what was finally getting me to give Disney another chance after getting tired of their capitalism and monopolizing.
I thought they were starting to turn over a new perspective and actually learn to empower the artists, at least a little more. But nope. Sequels, market appeal, worker exploitation is their priority.
And I'm out, I just don't do Disney anymore. Does the world feel way more emptier of media while ignoring Disney affiliated works? Yep. And it should with how much they monopolise, and has the silver lining of finally getting all the clutter out of the way to actually notice the passionately made indie art.
I actually wanted to see Turning Red in theaters, but by the time I learned it even got a theatrical release (I had to Google this) it was already gone
It’s classic Disney, notice how all these films they call “unsuccessful” either have main characters who are poc or deal with lgbtq+ themes? It’s just a round about way for them to stop making these stories with the excuse that they are not “profitable” when most these movies didn’t even get a theatrical release and still did pretty well considering they were only available on Disney+ during the pandemic
As a young animator that hopes to turn my art into a career, the state of the animation industry is discouraging. I just hope that more awareness is spread about this topic, and I’m really glad people like you are helping with that
Fellow young artist here, I wish you well into this industry :]
Don't be discouraged, if there's a will- there's a way.
i wish you luck both of you!
Me too, indie is my goal now.
It’s also possible that with the current working conditions studios like Pixar set up for animators plus the possibility of AI taking over, that there might be a surge in indie filming
@@aaromotivestudio3869 i hope so
It really scares me. I don’t want to grow up and not have an opportunity to pursue my dream job
I understand. I wanted to be an animator at DreamWorks, but they announced last year that they're going to start outsourcing those jobs, and it doesn't look like that will happen anymore. BUT, I've got faith in the indie scene, have started my own studio, and will be pursuing animation on my own instead. I'm still an animator, even if I'm not employed by one of the big studios, and no one can take that from me. Adapting to the future of the industry will be more crucial than ever. At least that's my personal perspective - hope that helps :)
You could try to build your career online and go independently indie animation has been booming as of recently
Woah that’s cool. And super inspiring. Thanks a bunch for all that you do and I hope everything goes well.
Go indie, start a YT account, make animations, have a side/main job while it grows. Hopefully it grows enough it becomes your main job. If you are in a uni and have electives to spare, choose marketing. You might need it.
Inde animations are really starting to take off! And if you've got all the talent to start your own show, or movie...
Then you got what it takes! You won't have to rely on an executive approving your ideas, you *are* the executive!
I think the financial gain is not even what most people fight for. Instead, it's stuff like "being able to work in normal conditions", "having a decent pay for all the work done" and, the most outrageous : "being treated like a human being". Crazy right ? 😭
(This is ironic people. I don't understand how it's okay to treat people like that, no matter what they work in)
@@germainelowpt7206 It was never "okay" to treat workers like they are not fellow human beings who deserve equal rights! That is never going to be okay! The best way to describe this cruel mistreatment of workers is "barely not illegal." October 8, 2024, 8:47pm
"Wow, you guys made one of our best movies! Your fired btw!"
Successful doesn’t equal best. My family left the theater and was refused a refund. 😑
@@princesspikachu3915 really?! I thought it was a good movie ngl
@@emeraldhamster Daughter got bored and husband didn’t like the new emotions.
@princesspikachu3915 huh, that stinks
It's very smart witht he way it presents it's meanings and themes but I do get it, the first was definitely more packed with things to keep you on board, as it focuses more on joy and sadness trying to get back to hq.
@@princesspikachu3915successful does equal best in the eyes of the corporation. That is what this is about.
What sucks is that independent indie animators have little chance of succeeding as much as big name animations do because they dont have the resources to garner as much attention to their works. I love animation and would like to see more than just Disney and whatnot, but I don't even know a place I can do that other than UA-cam.
It is hard but it isn’t impossible! There are a whole lot of indie studios and animators on the rise that have made it :). They can be abit harder to find but it is worth the search.
Lackadaisy! 😺
Honestly the rise of productions such as Lackadaisy, Helluva/Hazbin, and the Digital Circus has given me hope
@@MewCriesThing is, for every Lackadaisy/Hazbin/Helluva/Digital Circus out there, there's probably another 10 indie shows you've never heard of that never get past early production due to a lack of audience and resources.
@@Commenter839 I’ve been looking for and supporting new indie productions, those ones are just the most successful ones i’ve seen so far.
What really ticks me off about executives not wanting personal stories but rather a franchise is that every franchise has to start with an original story😭 Like the reason inside out 2 got so popular was BECAUSE people fell inlove with the first one. Which was a standalone movie!!
This really broke my heart reading this article as a Pixar stan since chidlhood. I 100% think both Disney and Pixar should vote to unionize.
However, I would like to point out the comments here saying that indie animation is the future. That alone isn’t going to save the industry. What REALLY will save the industry is the unionization of animation as a whole as well as an alliance between the indie side and the industry side, akin to how A24 is allowed to showcase their films in Hollywood’s old theaters.
Yeah tbh I think the "industry" as we know it is collapsing, and making way for a new business model for animation. The more high quality content that comes out of UA-cam from studios like Glitch with successful business models, the more I'm convinced that the future of animation is more direct to consumer than it is through the studio system. However, it should be allowed to coexist with the traditional industry and the artists that are fighting for their rights deserve to get what they're asking for.
@@NoTheRobot And that new business model is the #StandWithAnimation protests!
@@NoTheRobotagreed. But the problem is so many studios the investors are private equity firms and hedge funds. The same companies that gutted toys r us and Kmart and other companies
The studios won’t listen unless you make them listen. They won’t treat workers right until a union forces them to. I’m loving that indie is getting its moment right now, but they should be protected too.
@@bamb3928 Especially with drama going on at Glitch.
I’m just annoyed about people who kiss indie animation’s butt and disparage the other side of things because despite the struggles of workplace enivronments, which can happen on either side, animation can put something beautiful out regardless.
"We don't want to make nuanced stories that mean something to the creators that audiences can resonate with, that doesnt make as much money and sell as many plushies; let's make movies that will make heaps and loads of money and sell trucks full of plushies instead."
Unfortunately this is how corporations think and it's sad. Movies like Turning Red and Luca had such strong emotional cores and while Inside Out 2 did a great job of being emotionally poignant, I think a shift towards franchise movies feels creatively bankrupt and lazy. I think they executed this movie well btu that doesnt mean that they always will. More live-action remakes anyone?
I blame Illumniation a little bit. I mean, cute franchises are their MO, and I don’t particularly haaaate them for that, I just have no interest in watching Despicable Me 7 or anything like that.
I think Bluey might save good story telling though. Marketable and good story.
@@rayeiswriting4372 THIS MIGHT JUST BE THE BEST TAKE OF THE CENTURY. I totally agree that Illumination has pushed the limit of how bad a movie can be while still making a shit-ton of money. At this point its a social experiment. I really hope this trend ends though
As someone who is going into the animation industry next year its sad because when you train as an animator these are things you realise are really common. Animators are notoriously overworked, underpaid and underappreciated
It doesn’t have to be that way. I’m not sure which country you are from, but animation unions made the working conditions a lot better in L.A. I’m Canadian, and I can see how the industry where I’m from has improved the working conditions even without unions (although that is about to change for the better very soon👀).
Artists in the animation industry are such passionate hardworking people. They aren’t standing by and watching this happen. So please, have hope and involve yourself in your local animation community. You might be surprised at the change you are capable of as a community. ❤️
@bamb3928 I absolutely still wish to be involved in the animation community. Animation has been my passion since I was 12, it will take a lot for me to give that up.
I work in South Africa so in this climate more than 30% of our populace are unemployed and most large animation companies take advantage of the cheap labor force.
Still I hope we can make changes as the understanding of animation is slowly becoming more aware in the public consciousness.
"When Stanley came to a set of two closed doors, he sat down and started giving commentary on the state of Pixar"
i understood that refrence 👍
Stanley parable?
Executives live in bizarro world. They tank movies and then blame the creators for it not making more money. They prop up a bland cash-grab and pat themselves on the back as it fails.
They're like the lost souls in Soul but instead of "make a trade" it's "chase a fad"
maybe some of those amazing animators could make their own indie projects for youtube since Spindlehorse, Glitch, and many many others have started making youtube their new home for not just money but art in a more comfortable and satisfying way that's both realistic and fair versus going off persistent threats from big head studios about to lose their jobs.
I must mention that Spindlehorse is a notoriously horrible employer to work for, they pay their employees peanuts and treat them like trash
@@Tonithealtwing people still believe this ?? Seriously? The claims were made originally by people who simply didn't understand how payment works in the animation industry. They assumed pay was = time animation would be on screen (which is not true) Every spindlehorse employee to speak about it claims they get payed great and they're clearly really passionate about it, streaming or posting their animation on UA-cam. It's so incredibly damaging to the indie animation space that people deep dive on the people behind them to make stuff up because they're not as protected as a large company. People absolutely hate anything associated with spindlehorse so anything said about it should probably be researched before you decide if you want to spread any negative sentiments around it.
Inside Out 2 success is leading to more Pixar sequels & less original movies which has me worried for the future of animation especially by the horrible way the studios treat their hardworking animators!
My animation professor used to be a Disney animator. He said it was normal for them to cut people off after productions. 😢
Honestly Disney and Pixar have been making some really low moves lately. This is one of the biggest reasons I have stayed freelance and never actually got into working in feature films. I just refuse to risk my livelihood for an executive to lay me off right before my work goes out and lose my bonus for making they thing they just released.
10:13 I can't believe people have this mindset, artists are so incredibly important to just about any culture, all music, colour, pictures, movies, series etc only exist because of artists and animators. How incredibly boring and depressing the world will be without artists and animators to put some light and joy into our lives.
That's why these people are the type who welcome generative ai with glee. It's sad how the general population really disregards art
I’ve been aware of this ever since I was like 14 and I’m 24 now. This kind of news is one of the things that have stopped me from trying to enter the animation industry as a storyboarder. It’s my dream job, but I’ve never seen people fight for their rights as an artist until recently. I hope we keep fighting forever.
another example is with Transformers One, the film is wonderful, all the artists who made this film deserve praise, but now I don't think it's fair to hope for it to be a box office success, because these artists won't see any of the money from the film or of the toy sales, it's only the big bosses who will profit. I want success to go to these workers, because they were the ones who made it happen.
Disney is really wanting another lawsuit. this feels illegal
I'd say we're long overdue for a sequel to the 1940 Disney strike.
This is why indie animation is so popular right now.
Every animator should form an union and make their own studio so that evil companies won't take their money away.
It's kinda sad really but I hope it changes
Same here, I hope this can help shine a spotlight on these harsh conditions.
3:11 This is the best take on Lightyear and more people need to hear it
I've heard there's a toxic positivity problem where directors and writers don't get told they have to fix scriptural or story problems--and the culture that activists and "personal story!!!" people bring into the studios don't help. Why would you point out actual issues with the story when you know that the people writing it will take it personally and/or as an attack on them?
I used to think Adam Conniver was entirely performative but he does seem to stand by his beliefs when it matters and now I mad respect the guy.
Most of the upcoming Moana 2 was animated by Disney Animation's nascient Vancouver studio, which is also non unionized i think. I suspect there will be story after story published when that becomes an inevitable success about the working conditions there
I have so many thoughts on Moana 2 and none of them are positive
To the people saying that indie animation is the way out of the current state of animation: that is like putting a band-aid on a limb that has been cut off. While it is great that indie animation is becoming more popular and accessible, that shouldn't be the solution because that isn't fixing the root of the problem, which is that animators are overworked yet they still can't pay their pills and barely have healthcare. Projects are still being shelved before they hit their prime in favor of short-term profits, which directly affects animators since having the show you worked in being in a streaming service is required on your resume now. And let's not forget how Netflix and other streaming services will find Mr. Krabs-esque ways to get out of paying their animators, like how they got caught lying about The Cuphead Show having three seasons when it's actually the entire first season cut up into three sections and labeled as "seasons."
GLITCH Productions and indie animators are not going to fix that, nor do they have the ability to; unionizing, negotiations, and eating the rich are really the only ways to fix the problem.
Pixar is not the only Studio that has harsh working environment. Studio Ghibli also has the same problems as well under the management of the Hayao Miyazaki. Why do you think alot of empoyees and artist left the studio is because of the terrible and harsh working environment and not only that he's also very difficult to work with, shuts down ideas that aren't his, and being encapable of fostering growth and nurturing creativity in younger artist so that they can succeed. There's no wonder Studio Ponoc existed becuse its own by the former employees of Studio Ghibli who left the company. Theres a reason why there is no successor of that particular studio in general.
Thank you for this information 😭 I need to know More about these studios and how they treat their employees
@@SsLoage You're welcome, Miyazaki was very notorious for being difficult to work with and also based on his relationship with his son Goro I can really tell why his son made Tales of Earthsea which I bet a reply to his father's resentment of him.
not being able to foster growth and nurturing creativity in younger artist isn't really surprising considering he can't even do that with his own son
Animators being overworked and abused is a tale as old as time. It’s not new unfortunately. The only thing holding them somewhat accountable are unions.
@@NorySapp hot take, tales from eartsea is my favorite ghibli movie
The one scene in inside out showed the animators to me.
The scene where anxiety is making all the workers draw pictures non stop made me think about the animators - don’t know why but it made me feel kinda yucky about it.
I mean it’s a fine movie but that definitely stood out to me
That’s true. Anxiety is afraid of something, not being liked and not having a future, so she drove anxiety into others. Just like I imagine executives who shut out everyone else would.
Sometimes I feel the phrase Animation Industry is an oxymoron. Like Animation is an art form that takes a lot of money and time to make and industry is about streamlining the entire process to make as much money per project as possible. I can't understand how the two are supposed to reconcile in a way that makes artists and business people happy
As someone going into uni for animation filmmaking next year this hurts me very much knowing that my work might not exist anymore. I chose this route to make art, not money. Idgaf about money but it'd be nice to be able to live and get recognition for working on a beautiful film. I think the first thing that needs to be done is strikes on one side and on the other an internal union needs to be prepared for each studio. In a second time, artists need to be able to have a point of view on the art they're making and if it's soulless money making then shutting it back. This could work with more creative directors that actually care about film.
I hope this works out well because I don't want to make frozen 32 and toy story 15 but instead make nice art that reflects the emotion of someone. Get directors that know their worth and that can stand up for themselves
Sucks that the industry is like this. Loved a lot of animated shows growing up and i think I'd love to work writing for animated shows. But due to how bad it looks now, might not be a good time for that and to focus more on a stable well paid day job b4 tipping my toe into that.
Hope your stuidio prep keeps going well.
Its honestly so sad seeing rampant capitalism take ahold of these companies' moral codes when it comes to paying their animators. The future seems so bleak for animation, but I do look forwards to the people now starting their own series now on their own. The amount of animated pilots popping up on youtube with a wonderful style and astounding animation quality is a solace.
Great video as well! I hope commenting boosts it in the algorithm because having people who aren't artists and animators watch is absolutely needed.
As an animation student, this is why I'm hesitant to work with big companies like Disney 😒
Idk if the same struggles are happening in Indie Companies like Glitch Productions but at least I have a better chance liking my job as much as I do now as a student. I found two YTubers who works for Glitch and they seem to enjoy their jobs and like to show off their work. Also, my major made me to pay more attention to the ANIMATION (and story, duh) rather than Jack Black being Bowser or Aquafina doing once again, a horrible job at voice acting. 🙄
It also made my mom pay more attention to animation and she knows nothing about this field, lol.
Basically, my Major as a freshman student made me appreciate Animatiors/Artist more than anything while enjoying my own little characters doing anything I imagine. 🥰
And that's what I want for myself after I graduate.
Now, I'm not saying Indie is the future for the animation field (because who knows, the cycle might continue), I'm saying that I also demand change from Disney NOT using AI for their movies to Big companies treating their employees like normal human beings because, at the end of the day, the Animatiors are doing more work than Beyonce reading a script for Frozen 6.
Sigh...
As always Disney gives me one reason or another to regret supporting them. Even when the movie does great, those damn executives will fire tons of people, but never themselves. So what's the point of putting effort in your job, if they're gonna fire you anyway? We really need smaller studios to rise up and kick these people of their pedestal for good...
I really wish I was able to go to Burbank for the rally. I love animation, some of my favorite stories ever are cartoons like Gravity Falls, The Owl House, Amphibia, Over The Garden Wall, ect, and I'm going to college with the intent to be a storyboard artist. It's important for me to show my support not just because I know how hard these people worked and how much they deserve better, but because I'm going into this field myself; I WANT to keep and continue the energy Alex Hirsch had while on Gravity Falls, a tight-knit team who all contributed great ideas and worked together to make something special. That's why I wanted to go into storyboarding, and I hope we can salvage it going forward.
Commenting for the algorithm! I hope this issue breaks through the animation bubble to the average movie goer
That's all I'm trying to do haha. The animation community is relatively small, so I'm hoping I have some crossover here with the mainstream to help this story break through. Thank you for commenting!
I hope a lot of animators are able to break free, create their own projects, studios, better living and working conditions. Sadly in today's day and age we fuel the great machine by just gobbling up Pixar sequels all the time. Maybe skip the next one, or watch it on streaming only, and support some smaller animated productions instead.
R.I.P. Pixar Animation Studios 1979-2024
8:42 Adam Ruins Evil Corporations.
Disney and pixar lost the ability to dare and dream big (back then it wasnt all good either but they had visions) . Nowadays it is just money and no interest in his workers or audience...save, save, save for us. They wouldnt be where they are now if they have choosen this course from the start. What changed over the years? What I fear most is that they get animators angry to lead them all into indie animations studios who try ( i really hope for it) to pay fair wages but are dependend on the audience to help out every single day.
It's Disney. It's a horrible company and I long feared it would F up Pixar. Also, former Pixar artists are starting their own studios... it's happening and I hope it continues to happen. I think the way forward is indie studios, not large corporate sweatshops.
@@dannybcreative let's hope it all turns out well for all animators out there and the rise of indie animation studios.
@@Taz_OverAllAnimation I sure hope it does, but it's going to take time and persistence.
1.6 billion - you think they'd sacrifice a smidgeon of the profit (which after expenses is likely a billion and change) to ensure these laid off animators could still get bonuses. By a smidgeon I literally mean even 30-70 K each. But nope! The internal optics of doing that would get someone fired and make stockholders angry. Ridiculous.
This is uncannily like the situation at Disney back in the 1940s after Snow White was released and workers never received their bonuses. Walt also refused to unionize his studio at the time. History keeps repeating itself, I guess
I am hoping to get a job in animation soon but I had no clue Pixar wasn’t part of the union, that’s pretty typical of a Disney company but still…
Appreciate your work and these videos/channel! I had my heart set on pursuing a career as a story artist&illustrator but watching the industry turmoil over the last few years, and seeing so many of my talented friends out of work really makes me hesitant.
Love these videos. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much!! Glad you enjoyed it
I feel like at this point all people who work on animation should just create their own brands and leave Pixar and Disney to sink and burn... I used to love Disney and Pixar bt now i will be very happy to see the company go up in flames... How dare they deem animation to be second rate... How dare they think animation is just for kids and should be dumbed down so they can be easily understood... Explain how they can pay millions of dollars per day for an actor who acts bt cant even pay half that for a team who CREATES art.... Yeah those companies are not worth the support they have
FR, Its happened before and it should keep happening. Older disney animators left and made their own studios
I saw the video a few days ago and didn't click on it since i thought this video was like those other videos that shit on movies for being too woke for the sake of angry rants. Again, since i do have seen people hating this movies for lacking [insert random nitpick]. But im glad the video got recommended to me again and i actually gave it another look and realized it was about a different topic which is absolutely concerning and outrageous. I don't know what to think now, especially since i also want to step inside the animation or illustration industry, not nesessaryly pixar or any animation studio, but still. It leaves me rather speechless and uncertain as to what to do
Thanks for giving me another chance! Yeah unfortunately that type of angry rant style video seems to be my competition here on UA-cam. I don’t want to resort to “Disney bad” videos, I’d rather look at the situation objectively. I’m hopeful that the industry will self correct in the next few years but I’m not crossing my fingers.
This. Animating is all I want to do in life but there is no way I’m gonna let myself be exploited like this. I do animation on my free time/patreon while having a nice paying regular job
What kind of a regular job do you do
I don't know why studio executives are always so stupid... Oh wait, I know why, its because they only speak through the graphs and numbers telling them how much money they make! I seriously don't understand how they can be THIS disconnected from reality. :/
money makes people do dumb sh*t.
They wanted to appease the investors than their own audience
@@thegiftedfire3470and look how it’s serving them 🙄🙄
3:11 gawd damn finally someone with the correct take on the Lightyear movie
my uncle was one of the people laid off and it almost made him and my aunt lose their house their was no real warning and it hit them pretty hard. they had to sell my other uncles houses that died that was full of memories for them to make ends meet. Disney sucks pretty bad
I’m really sorry to hear about that. I hope your uncle lands on his feet somewhere else, but that’s absolutely tragic.
I felt this way too!! After hearing about “no more personal movies” it just felt kinda off that Inside Out 2 got this successful.
It's stuff like this that makes me want to shift away from movie animation altogether. I'm currently in college to become a 3d animator. I still want to stick with it, but i feel more confident in the world of video games or homemade animations
This is so sad. There is so much expression in Riley and the animators did so good. Stupid money hungry corp runners are always so money hungry and greedy. How ironic that the movie is about anxiety and the animators probably had a lot of anxiety
What's the point of having a non unionized studio when higher ups are laying off employees all the damn time, Pixar will close sooner than later!!!
As much as I do agree, i think people are giving pixar a lot of bad reaction when dreamworks layed off 75% of their employees and i dont see peolle talking about that
Wait til the next video✌️
Both are bad.
But I see what your coming from I think I been seeing people talking about that to.
Hey, I just want to thank You for speaking out about this problem. As a person who is just passionate about the animation and has actually no voice and influence, I'm so happy people are talking about the industry. Maybe I would sound like a Jehova's witness, but I think I should talk with my friends and loved ones about the problem, even if they don't care. I feel like I need to educate them, tell them that they should respect the beauty of animation and not treat it like "silly goofy fairy tale/cartoon for kids" [in my country many people call most of the animations "fairy tales" and it frustrates me because this enlarges the stereotype, greetings from Poland]
I wanted say to thank you for sharing and making these videos.congratulations on the studio to I wish the best.
Hearing about how rough the animation industry always makes me sad. Animation has meant a lot to me my whole life. When I was younger, it was my dream to be an animation, but now, not so much. I regularly get into arguments w/ family that I shouldn't give up on my dreams or the industry isn't that bad, animators make so much, get great benefits, and it isn't a hard job at know... It's heart breaking and scary to know it's somewhat normal that the animation industry is so much of a hell scape AND that there are people out there a kin to some of my family whom don't know, care, or believe about it.
Fantastic video and a sobering wake-up call. Keep-up the great content dude and best of luck on your new studio space!
Thanks so much!!
That's heartbreaking. I give up on my dream to be animator.
i cant virtue-signal saying "lol just stop paying for them then" bc i went and watched the 3 star wars sequels in theaters, i watched barbie. but... it's 2014, the rebootification has been going for almost a decade if not the whole decade. _why_ are we as a culture still giving big studios money?
ive been comparing this stuff to the sims (lol), bc people are always complaining the sims sucks but still buying it. the thing with pc gaming tho is that it's easier to get a hold of indie games, and indie animation is just as hard to make. netflix felt like a beacon of hope for indie animation for a while but of course that was a bust. i dont know how mubi works, sadly. but yeah, we *need* the equivalent of steam for animation, or nebula, i dont know, bc youtube isnt *it* either. otherwise it's gonna be a few unicorn anitubers going big and the bulk of artists fending for themselves :/
I find that there's a big difference between what audiences SAY they want, vs what they ACTUALLY want. Talk to anyone and they'll tell you they're sick of live-action remakes, yet the LAR's have almost consistently out-grossed their animated counterparts (see The Lion King as a perfect example). What's Disney supposed to think with data like that?
@@NoTheRobot exactly D: it's so frustrating... but the again most people who are watching the movies arent the ones being sad about _the state of the animation industry_ and watching think pieces about them, theyre the ones going to insertstudio-land getting merch :/
Soul is my 7-year-old's favorite movie. Turning Red is my new favorite Pixar movie dethroning Ratatouille. We all love Luca and Onward and Elemental too. Lightyear was...okay.
It boggles my mind how the narrative keeps saying these were "bad" movies when my family all agrees they've been some of the best movies the studio has ever put out.
But they only cared about the performances and the money 😢
@@JellyOnAPancakeAyyyy Disney Corporate did, but what about common online discourse?
Comment for the algorithm, I really hope this important topic reaches more people
The magic is officially dead with many of these major companies for me. Like, no matter how sweet and beautiful their works are, if they screwed over this many innocent people, I don't want them. They deserve to be in this rut for what they did, and will dig it deeper if they keep it up.
Plus; turns out they do have a lot of creative rivals in Indie studios, they've just been good at burying them and winning the limited audience attention with advertising for years.
If the world isn't doing the bare minimum for ethics, I'm not going to pretend I'm in a more pleasant world, I'm existing in the world where these films don't feel good to watch because they exploited people.
My joy can come from projects that are actually kind to the workers.
"They are not investing in new stuff". Wrong. Elio is Pixar's next release, and they're producing the original screenplay Hoppers, directed by Daniel Chong of We Bare Bears.
These were in production before this change was announced. Moving forward their slate of films in development will be more sequel heavy than before.
I'm currently in art school, majoring in 3D Animation, and when people ask me why I want to be an animator or artist despite knowing how competitive and; how toxic and risky the work environment can be towards animators. Personally for me, I started looking up to animators in my teen years and want to be one myself purely to create and entertain. I take a lot of joy from the idea of bringing life to something, and I love entertaining people. As animators, we purely run from passion and discipline. I am afraid that I might be unemployed or can't even make it into the field, but that fear is not gonna stop me from contributing to a story that is worth telling. I hate that higher ups from studios puts income first over the entertainment and quality of their movies. As a director, or studio leaning on making entertainment and inspired children from all over the world from the stories they tell, you should put quality and entertainment first. A director is an artist, they have the vision, they have the story. But why make any if a studio is not allowing those who has greater minds to tell that story? Why lay off animators who has great potential? I understand that maybe there is a budget, and you don't want your studio to bankrupt but you can't be wasting artist's time by not paying them what they are worth. Without artists, things like these wouldn't even exist and animators contribute a lot to these movies. I feel their passion through the movies they produce, I see their effort, but no one is letting these people receive the respect they deserve.
Inside Out 2 was pretty good. It was probably the first movie since Toy Story 2 where I could say the sequel was better.
Pixar’s work has been forgettable as of late. The last movie by Pixar that I really enjoyed was Soul. Lightyear was alright. But Onward, Turning Red and Luca, can’t remember anything about them.
Pixar appears to put more effort into sequels unfortunately. That’s why we now have Toy Story 5 and Incredibles 3. I do look forward to seeing those however.
So my one criticism of this video is that it ignores that the artist and the studios are a in a symbiotic relationship, as without the studios the artist can’t do much, and without the artists the studios won’t have product to sell. And thus when the studio is treated as a evil faceless machine and not a living organism as when the studio does bad or is in debt it is reseasonable for them to be less creative or sadly have to lay people off, people become blindsided to the fact that the tragic layoffs helped to keep Pixar going after the tumultuous last few years. And yes I do want to see the artist treated better we just need to make sure when having a conversation that we look at the full picture.
The problem is that relationship is a toxic one with the studios having most of the power here. It’s no longer symbiotic when the workers aren’t getting their fair share of the money making pie despite that money being built off their labour.
I think You’re wrong here: the animators and artists have the power. The show doesn’t get made if there isn’t people to make it. Animators have been going indie and making amazing things. They don’t need the studios to tell them what to animate, they need to be paid and treated fairly. They made a killing on inside out and what do the animators get? Burn out and a measly bonus.
Lots of former industry animators started doing indie
Like Former Blue Sky animator, Kevin Temmer, who became the lead animator of the successful and popular indie show, The Amazing Digital Circus
I'm missing the "sweet" part. No director was fired, no one was fired except the people down below.
@@Frostensen The sweet part of this bittersweet success is already obvious if you watched Inside Out 2 for yourself. It was a wildly successful film because it had a great story which (A) had much more emotional depth, (B) does not think that being a sequel is an excuse to not try to make a better story, and (C) puts a chick in it who is neither lame nor gay. Inside Out 2 is not a lazy or unambitious sequel, but I assume Pixar was still in such poor financial condition from previous failed films that it probably had to decrease the quantity of workers to not be overstaffed in case of another financial loss. I still wish Pixar had not fired Inside Out 2's animators so soon, because they do not deserve to be excluded from the rewards of their own work. Would Inside 2 exist without any or all of them? October 8, 2024, 9:01pm
there are hundreds of vids about this movie and only a few bring up this subject.
A lot of UA-camrs like Ryan Kinel, really don’t want lgbtq on Pixar films because they’re too “woke”, like there’s nothing wrong with being lgbtq and I don’t want Disney to make anymore ice age movies since blue sky studios is dead
Dumb question but is there by any chance a such a thing as animation conventions?? I think it everyone in the animation industry start a small get together maybe things will set in stine for something much morme bigger and beneficial for everyone
Disney being a corporate giant and owning Pixar treat their animators like common employees, while reaping the huge profits for themselves and giving little back to the people who made the last film Inside Out 2, mainly the ones who were laid off. Reducing staff is just a numbers game, and the corporate execs, don't work as hard while making record profits. Execs care less about artists, its just a box office machine.
These big execs are getting reaaaallll ballsy considering they would never have their money or power if not for the artists and animators who’s creativity and hard work is what gives THEM a fkn job not the other way around. We aren’t surprised, but yes we are tired.
❤ Thanks for the vid. “Not unionized” and “I can’t do this anymore”. Therein might lay a solution. They produced fantastic art that reaches people. And got exploited and canned.
Corporations usually do this and when they’re given limitations, they don’t make any for themselves. And HR exists to protect them not the employees.
I feel like this story may be a backhanded message to Disney. Disney is acting on anxiety, which is lowering their quality. They need to get their act together and find the joy in what they're doing.
Thanks for making this video and bringing awareness to the topic.
The gaming industry has been going through very similar issues for some time now. It's heartbreaking just how much disrespect the workers get from management, only to be fired by text or worse, finding out from twitter. And many times to be let go BECAUSE of bad decisions made BY said management.
Tango Gameworks developed the game Hi-Fi Rush and released it 2023 to critical acclaim, then were hit with the news Microsoft had decided to close down the studio by 2024 to cut costs. Just like that, after months of grind and a very succesful release, everyone was hit with the news that they would be sent packing for their efforts. Then Matt Booty (Microsoft's Head of Xbox) A DAY LATER wrote on Twitter that they needed more games like Hi-Fi Rush. A day after getting rid of everyone, he's out there praising their work, it's insane.
Hoping everyone who gave their heart and soul for your work to move on to studios who treat you with some humanity.
It is really bittersweet and a slap in the face to those animators that were laid off
Thank you for these types of videos, I work in children's publishing but always wanted to work in animation. I have always tried to be forward thinking and supportive of social justice movements and I believe workers rights is a big one whether that be in fast food, medical, education, or animation. As a parent and artist these films and the messages they portray are HUGE! The publishing world had a reckoning w/ the lack of diversity in books and of those who make them and I see that coming for animation too. Right on.
Thank you for this, I really appreciate all you are doing with your channel dude. Love the TWRP shirt too!
" The studios don't care about making good movies, they only care about making good box office impressions"
This one rang true with me because of a movie I saw last night. It advertised itself to have a completely separate meaning and subject than what was actually in the film. It took something deeply meaningful to me and made it a terrible plot device to sell bad romance to impressionable youth. It felt like brainwash. It felt like I was cheated for looking forward to seeing it. And it's probably doing pretty well because of this deception.
No The robot!!! Dropping gems as usual! Awesome video dude!
Thanks man!!
5:43
I mean reboots and sequels are good and safe, but those are more a temporary solution. These aren't a long term thing u want to rely on. Reboots and sequels are more the thing u do to keep the lights on, but maybe not and all the time thing to be your meat & potatoes main course projects. At least that's the idea I assume u are getting at.
This is something that Illumination suffers from
The writers didn't see any of the profit either! It's disgusting.
Neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ people exist and have existed for a long time. A lot of those people also happen to be artists. I can't imagine the company culture/ feeling of dread going in to work for a company telling you to actively diminish those characters and stories in your movies. Sounds like a lot of bureaucratic nonsense from higher ups who only care about the bottom line.
Great! A new studio space and a Patreon as well
Love your content, been really busy these days that I can't keep up with my youtube notifications
But magically, I get time to watch to videos immediately and its because of how good they are
The current state of the industry looks bleak, makes us beginner animators and students wonder if we should just stop animation
But the truth is animation inspires me, I can't imagine doing something other than that and I know things will get better for the industry
I hope they will, And I'm still willing to take the risk because animation is worth the risk in my opinion
Thanks so much!! Exciting things to come ✌️
What's funny is Animators have been trying to unionize for decades 😅 but since there were so few studios to work for.. it was basically not possible
Way Way back when Animators went on strike and Old Walt Disney called them all selfish 😒 and communists
(because he played favorites and pay others more than the true grunt workers.. and they just wanted a few extra bucks to survive)
Course it's the strange favoritism and Meddling CEOs who help Don Bluth, Pixar and other big Animators make their own studios.. so pixar needs to remember why they didn't just start working for Disney from the start
Idk if this helps but I am a new watcher and it was hard to click on the video you referenced in the beginning of the vid. I could have searched for it in your channel but I didnt know which was the correct thumbnail or title to search for bc that part was so fast and the hotlink for the vid at the top right corner flashed even faster. Maybe I'm old and slow but just thought I would share. Thanks for the interesting and informative video!
Thanks for the feedback! It’s also linked in the description but I can remember to mention that going forward
as someone who always wanted to be an animator, news like this makes me not want the job anymore…and i hate that because animation is beautiful and it’s something i’ve always wanted to be apart of….just not under these circumstances
i just hope things get better as time passes
I knew Inside Out 2’s success is bad news.
The Wild Robot rahh